*This week is sold out. Please see the alternative week*
Exploring the Catalunya Wine Route - An Oenogastronomic Experience with chef Renee Schuler
With Modernist architecture, beautiful beaches and extreme landscapes as a backdrop, we offer a multitude of experiences to discover Spain. From exploring wine cellars and tasting the flavors of some of Spain’s finest wines, to learning about culinary traditions, discovering gastronomic secrets and traditional recipes, together we will savour the Spanish vibrant culture.
For the wine connoisseur a visit to the area will bring to life winemaking in all its traditional and high tech forms. Small wineries with family owned vineyards, cooperative wineries and large independent wine producers open their doors to promote their products through tastings and beautiful, informative displays.
A small group of culinary enthusiasts will enjoy an immersive edible experience, sampling Spanish cuisines in local restaurants, exploring markets and local producers, and, of course, getting in the kitchen and cooking with Chefs Renée and Maria as well as with local Chef instructors to truly devour the flavors of the region.
Location
Our home for the week is in Sant Pere de Ribes, 35 minutes from Barcelona, in the heart of the Penedès countryside. Well-known for its Cava production and other outstanding red, white and rosé wines, the area is only 20 minutes away from Sitges and its beautiful beaches on the Mediterranean coast.
Accomodation
We will be staying just outside Sant Pere de Ribes, in a magnificent old farm among the grapevines . While the property has been thoroughly modernized to a superior standard, it has kept some charming decorative touches from its previous life. Both the big house and the small house have a swimming pool and plenty of space to socialize. Each bedroom has its own en-suite bathroom with shower, and its own air conditioning unit. Daily room refresh is provided.
Itinerary
All dates and activities are subject to change, due to weather, availability, and group preferences.
Day 1: Arrive at the farm; get settled; afternoon and evening meals provided as you get settled and familiarized with the property and meet your fellow travelers.
Day 2: The Alt Penedès: Market and Cheese Shop Visits, Olive Oil and Wine Tasting Experiences
| Morning: | Market Visit, Brunch and D.O. Penedès Wine Tasting at El Cigró d'Or from the Michelin Guide |
| Early Afternoon: | Xerigots Cheese Shop |
| Late Afternoon: | Sumarroca Winery and Olive Oil Producer: Visit and Tasting |
| Evening: | Apéritif and Dinner: Guest Chef to Demonstrate Paella Preparation |
Day 3: Barcelona: Visit La Boquería Market, One of the World's Best
| Morning: | La Boquería Marquet |
| Lunch: | Louro, Galician Cuisine |
| Afternoon: | Gaudí's Palace Güell - Tour (Optional) |
| Evening: | Apéritif and Dinner at the Farm |
Day 4: The Cava Experience at Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, the Cava Capital of the World
| Morning: | Codorniu Guided Tour with Visit of Modernist Facility, Tasting of 2 Premium Cava and Lunch |
| Afternoon: | Visit Covides Coop - Tour and Tasting |
| Late Afternoon: | Modernist Masia Grabuac - Tour and Tasting |
| Apéritif: | An Introduction to Cava Based Cocktails |
| Evening: | Dinner at the Farm |
Day 5: Central and Baix Penedès: Wine Tasting Experience
| Morning: | Valdosera Winery, Visit and Tasting |
| Lunch: | Cal Pere del Maset from the MIchelin Guide |
| Afternoon: | Jaume Serra Winery - Visit and Tasting |
| Evening: | Apéritif and Dinner: Guest Chef to Demonstrate Tapas Preparation |
Day 6: The Vermuturismo Experience
| Morning: | Casa Padró Guided Tour and Vermouth Tasting |
| Noon: | Departure for Reus: Lunch at Museo del Vermut Restaurant |
| Mid Afternoon: | Casa Navas: A Gem of Modernist Architecture-Tour (Optional) |
| Apéritif: | An Introduction to Vermouth Based Cocktails |
| Evening: | Dinner at the Farm |
Day 7: Sitges
| Morning: | Palau de Maricel - One of the finest examples of the "Noucentista" style, commissioned by American magnate, philanthropist and art collector Charles Deering (Optional) |
| Midday - Afternoon: | Lunch and shopping on your own |
| Late Afternoon: | Return to the farm, pack and get ready for farewell dinner |
| Evening: | Farewell Dinner - La cocina Sitges from the Michelin Guide |
Day 8: End of program. Participants depart.
While our days will be very busy, there will be time for an early morning walk or moment of relaxation before dinner. Our evenings will start with apéritif hour, followed by cooking demonstrations/instruction and family style dinner on most nights. Guests are welcomed to observe or to join the chefs as they cook. On days 3 and 5, two highly recommended local chefs will share their secrets to a successfull paella, fideuà and tapas meal as they prepare our dinners.
Our Team
The event is led by Renée Schuler, who is the Chef owner of Eat Well LLC, a well renowned event catering company in Cincinnati, USA. Chef Schuler, who trained at the Institute for Culinary Education in Manhattan, will be cooking most evenings, using local recipes and ingredients, as well as co-leading day trip adventures with Tim.
The European team, based in France, is headed by Cordon Bleu chef Maria de la Torre, who runs the non-profit association Le Petit Conservatoire des Saveurs (The Little Conservatory of Flavor), with its own cooking school. Maria will also be cooking most evenings with Renée.
Our wine aficionado, tour guide extraordinaire, and driver is Tim Fallen-Bailey. Our team regularly runs successful tours in both France and Italy.
Accessibility/Mobility
Both houses and most places we'll visit require navigating a small number of stairs. While comfortable and air conditioned our vehicles are not equipped to handle wheelchairs. If you are interested in exploring a more accessible oenogastronomic tour, please let us know.
Pricing
Rates include transfers to and from either Barcelona or Sitges airport or train station, local transportation to all activities, accomodation and use of the farm facilities, entrance fees and wine tastings. Also included are all breakfasts and dinners, including our Gourmet farewell dinner, and lunches excepting one. Wine is included everyday with lunch, dinner and apéritif. Airfare or train tickets to Barcelona or Sitges are not included.
All rooms at the farm offer either a queen size or two single beds. You may choose single or double occupancy. The rates are as follows:
- USD $4700 per person for single occupancy
- USD $4200 per person for double occupancy
As our programs usually sell out, we recommend that participants reserve early by making a USD $1000 deposit by the end of August 2023. The balance will be due as follows:
- Half by 30th November 2023
- Final payment by 29th February 2024
To reserve your place, to make payments, or just to ask a question, please email timfb@sugarandsaffron.com.
Payments
For payments, please use Zelle and email address mdlt314@aol.com, linked directly to our Bank of America account. We discourage the use of Paypal and Venmo to avoid additional fees which will be charged to individual participants.
Direct counter deposits and ACH transfers are also accepted. Should you prefer to use either of these methods please contact timfb@sugarandsaffron.com to get our account details.
Cancellation Policy
1. The minimum number of participants for this program is 9. If the minimum number of paid participants has not been met by March 1, 2024 the program will be cancelled, and all deposits and fees paid will be refunded minus 5% (to cover transfer and currency conversion costs).
2. Participant cancellation:
- Up to December 1, 2023, 95% of deposit or full fee will be refunded. We will use the remaining 5% to pay for the currency conversion costs.
- Up to February 1, 2024, 50% of deposit or 25% of the full fee will be refunded.
- From March 1, 2024, no refunds will be offered.
Practical Information
- Plan to arrive/depart using Barcelona El Prat airport (code BCN). Pickup and drop-off at BCN is included in the price. Remember that to arrive on the program start day, you will need to leave the US on the day before.
- Bring credit cards that have a chip in them. If there is a PIN required, find out the number before you leave home.
- Bring some cash in case you want to buy something in a street market. Stores will generally accept credit and debit cards. About 200 Euros should be enough to start with.
- American Express credit cards are not widely accepted.
- Make sure you have a GSM cellphone, and that your cellphone has a plan that will work in Europe.
- Pack some plug adapters. Spain uses the Schuko Type E/F plugs.
- Do not bring electrical appliances including hairdryders as they will most likely burn. Hairdryers are supplied at the farm.
- Bring some wine bottle packing sleeves with you - we find that our guests always end up bringing several bottles home with them! And of course, leave some spare space in your bag.
Codorniu Cave (Codorniu)
© 2023 Association Le Petit Conservatoire des Saveurs
Photos © Timothy Fallen-Bailey unless otherwise attributed
